1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing apparatus used for a facsimile system and/or various kind of printers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical thermal printer comprises a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements disposed thereon, an ink transfer medium having a thermal transfer ink layer coated thereon, a printing medium such as a printing paper to which the ink is to be transferred and a platen. The platen urges the paper against the thermal head through the ink medium to print an image on the paper by the heating elements.
The ink transfer medium comprises a base substrate made from a polyester film which has a smooth surface. Therefore, the ink surface transferred to the paper becomes smooth and glossy, which is called "gloss printing".
Such printers can not take off the gloss from the ink surface of the printed paper. Therefore, the apparatus is not capable of making the ink surface mat and not glossy, i.e., of "mat printing".
Also, in such printing apparatus the ink transfer medium and the printing medium are conveyed while contacting over some distance after they are pressed against the thermal head by the platen to transfer the ink from the transfer medium to the printing medium. Therefore, in some occasions, the ink printed on the paper is removed and reattached to the ink medium side during the conveyance of the paper and the ink medium after the ink is printed on the paper at the thermal head, which could lower the transfer efficiency of the ink and degrade the printing quality.